For fans of David Baldacci, Tom Clancy, and Robert Ludlum... He's brilliant. Innocent. Helpless. And he's marked for death... It took years to develop. Cost billions to perfect. A cryptographic system so advanced it safeguards the United States' most vital secrets. It is secure. Impenetrable.
Until sixteen year old autistic savant Simon Lynch happens upon a forgotten snippet of code, his damaged brilliance breaking the cipher with ease and unwittingly marking him for death. Soon, elements of a pathological government security apparatus are hunting him, as is a beautiful, sadistic Japanese assassin working for enemies who will stop at nothing to learn the secret locked in Simon's mind.Only FBI Agent Art Jefferson stands between the innocent young man and these corrupt forces, putting his career, his freedom, and his life on the line to save Simon.
Simple Simon was made into the Bruce Willis film 'Mercury Rising'.
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Average Customer Review:
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15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 An Awsome ThrillerMay 03, 2009
By Michele Neumeister
"myshell27"
Simple Simon, the book that the movie Mercury Rising is based on is an awsome thriller. Great characters and fast moving action keep this book moving with far more action than Bruce Willis could ever keep up with. A great action packed read.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Fast paced and engagingNov 16, 1997
By pwagg@eliz.tased.edu.au
An interesting plot with an autistic teenager breaking a supposedly unbreakable code. The usual good and bad guys but an inexorable story which should appeal to thriller readers.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Good thriller, but has gratuitous graphic violenceJan 31, 1997
The inside cover blurb describes it as "Rain Man" meets "Wargames". Having recently seen Altman's "The Player", I thought this was a joke pitch. I was wrong, it was serious. Clearly written with a screenplay in mind. The graphic violence was unnecessary to make the point about the "bad guy" and will never make it to the screen. Unbelievable conversion of another "bad guy" from one who works through influence to cold-blooded murder. The "good guy" was too saintly. Interesting twist: a shadowy, secret goverment organization engaged in good works
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Loved the movie, loved the book!Jul 03, 2011
By Glenn Gordon
I decided to read this book because I loved the movie, Mercury Rising, with Bruce Willis as the story's hero. I enjoyed the book even more!
I'm a sucker for this stuff. Unlikely, but passionate hero. Defenseless victim in need of a defender. And a relentless pursuit by bad guy after bad guy after bad guy. Or in this case, a wickedly bad woman. Plus, I'm a puzzle nut, and Simple Simon weaves its multiple storylines into a plot-maze as intricately tangled as the secret code at its center.
Author Ryne Douglas Pearson had me hooked on the first page with a murder that made my skin crawl, then kept me there with convincing characters, a page-turning story, and his masterful ability to use the right string of words at just the right time. Every time.
If you're a fan of the thriller genre, Simple Simon rises above the norm.
12 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Fast Pace, Weak WritingNov 15, 2000
By Rob C.
This book had a great deal of potential. It seems to have been either over-edited or the author had not researched his subject matter very well.It is very fast paced, extremely so, with shallow character development and only cursory details about where the action takes place. There is a subplot about a sadistic assasin that one wonders why is in the book. The premise tends to insult the reader's intelligence. It is also sexist and marginally racist. It is also evident the author was not trying to authentically depict the intelligence establishment or the use of cryptography. There seems to be a 1970's sense of mistrust of the government written into the novel as well as a sense of governmental incompetence. The characters are cliche but friendly and this book will keep you reading it, however, it will not take very long, the pace is maddening and the details few. For a brief, if not unsatisfying, distraction, Simply Simon, fills the bill.
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based on 23 reviews
